The agony of Beatrice Chapter 1
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CHAPTER ONE: THE AGONY OF BEATRICE
Life is tough, and when life falls apart, other thing falls apart, and the center or the foundation cannot hold.
Mother Beatrice was the only child of her mother, Eunice.
Unfortunately, Eunice had ten stillbirths.
This situation is not rare amidst the poor healthcare situation where she grew up.
She prayed daily to have a child, but she did not conceive.
The problem was a paradox; “she was blessed” with many pregnancies, yet the result left her without a child.
Her pregnancies just never could proceed to become live births.
She finally gave birth to Beatrice very late in the game when she was nearly premenopausal.
Before then, she just kept having one pregnancy after another in futile attempts.
She was calm with the losses, and her faith was solid that one would survive.
Beatrice came up against time, even when all hope was nonexistent.
The only good thing was that she became “the first and the last.”
Consequently, Eunice tried to become pregnant and prayed every day after the birth of Beatrice to conceive another baby, all to no avail.
Without any more pregnancies, she decided to direct all her attention to the only child she had, Beatrice.
Eunice made sure she parented Beatrice well. She never forgot her suffering and desperation in having a child.
As the family’s matriarch, Eunice decided to bring up Beatrice with an iron fist and show her survival tricks.
Her family values included an excellent education and the need to have many children.
As soon as Beatrice married Paul, Eunice’s time clock flipped to a new starting point.
She was already counting on when Beatrice would measure up to her standards and bring a baby, preferably a male offspring.
Beatrice struggled through the early part of her marriage. The years went by, but conception was elusive and never occurred.
Each month was made physically and psychically painful by her menstruation.
Eunice would never let Beatrice and Paul hear the last of it. Her constant song was “When will you give me my grandson?”
She would call them to her house at Christmas, Easter, and during the New Year’s celebration and bombarded them with questions: Are you two doing okay?
What is wrong with you?
And why can’t you give me a child? Paul got the worst of the assault.
He dreaded those visits because Eunice was a master of interrogation.
The questions were put forward and driven down as if the FBI was conducting an investigation; it was an interrogation.
She employed many “putdown” innuendos and castigation in her arm-twisting tactics.
During the last visit, she said, “I won’t stop bothering both of you until you do the right thing and bring me a child.”
She even had the nerve to ask Paul if he was “really okay down there” and if he could perform in bed.
She would painfully drill him about whether he could meet his manly duties in bed.
Paul was always bewildered by the crudeness of her line of questioning.
Once, she asked if he was “sure his manhood could stand” up. And if it does, why can’t he produce a baby? She would tell him, “What nonsense is that?”
On one occasion, she proceeded to drill him through a barrage of questions about his sexual history, past sexual performances, and why he could not promptly and magically impregnate Beatrice.
Paul was always very ashamed whenever she was around, but he became rather tongue-tied about the invasive nature of Eunice’s behaviors.
He would try to avoid her like the bubonic plague as much as possible.
This constant oppression became a regular event in the life of Paul and Beatrice. It consumed the peace within the union.
Eunice would come in when they were unprepared.
Paul would dive under the bed, hide in the visitors’ room, or run to his friend’s house. Eunice would become extra passionate about her demands and often stayed for several days to deliver her caustic message about the importance of a child in their lives.
She often brought in the bitter native concoctions she drank to conceive Beatrice.
She decreed that Beatrice must drink these remedies several times daily to enhance fertility.
This concoction, made of red palm oil and bitter herbs, was the worst nausea-inducing cocktail a human being can ingest.
Beatrice would drink it only when Eunice came around to check it. Then she would secretly head to the bathroom to vomit it up.
Eventually, Eunice followed her to the toilet to prevent her from throwing up because she had complete confidence that this concoction would bring forth a child.
She scolded Beatrice, telling her she should not waste it by regurgitating.
After five years of this terrible predicament, Eunice became more demanding and disdainful.
She would tell every family member why the union of Paul and Beatrice was barren and how they wouldn’t make it unless they gave her a “child to show off.”
Her pride was her driving force to have a grandchild to take to the village to “show off” to her detractors.
She knew all Beatrice’s peers who had produced many offspring.
She wanted to show that her daughter was equal to these folks, not less than them. She also liked to “keep up with the Jones’s.”
Out of fury, she tried to force the consumption of the concoction on Paul, and then he would avoid coming home for several weeks.
Paul saw Eunice as the main nemesis of the marriage and as the primary reason why they were just not blessed with a child.
Being a very affluent trader in the village, Eunice had a lot of power and might.
She decided to use a tiny bit of this “political capital” on Paul’s family, who were not incredibly wealthy.
All that it took was one call to the King and the Kingmakers.
No wonder Paul’s father was ultimately and quickly summoned to the meeting of the council of elders.
He was told Paul must produce his son within 48 hours or else.
Many events happened with one leading to another, and after running away from home for six months, Paul finally returned to his wife in utter disgrace and despair.
Eunice returned home a few weeks later with the plan that Beatrice and Paul must visit the native Herbalist.
Both decided they could not take this oppression anymore.
Beatrice decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to consult her priest at the local church for prayers.
First, they would go to the hospital to ensure they were medically fit and compatible.
Of course, they were.
Nothing was wrong with his sperm, Beatrice’s ovaries, eggs, or their reproductive systems.
The week-long harvest celebration for the local branch of the neighboring church happened once a year.
As per the priest, many prayer warriors would arrive from out of town for the event.
Some could see visions, others offered seasoned prayers with serious heavy-duty anointments, and many miracles had occurred over time.
The yearly harvest and prayer retreat event was held in the church on top of the hill.
Beatrice faithfully attended the main event and the prayer sessions for the entire week.
She wondered what would happen and kept asking herself if she would conceive.
At least this will set her apart and reduce her mother Eunice’s oppression and restlessness.
She kept asking herself-will I ever have a child of mine?
The souls searching aspect of why she has infertility proved more vital than the suffering.
The Psychological and emotional pain became so intense as one day became another.
Yet Beatrice continued to feel miserably alone.
And hope is gradually becoming rather dull and uninspiring.
